Annapurna Finance raises USD 15mn from Proparco, bringing the total round size to USD 100mn

Bhubaneshwar (India), June 27 (ANI/PNN): Bhubaneshwar-based Annapurna Finance ("Annapurna"), among the top five NBFC-MFIs in the country, has raised funds worth USD 15 million from Proparco in Series A2. With the fresh funds, the total round size amounts to USD 100 million. This is the fourth capital raise by Annapurna in the last 15 months, after attracting a USD 30 million investment from Nuveen Global Impact Fund in March 2021, USD 20 million from DEG in November 2021 and USD 35 million from Encourage Capital, Accion and existing investor Oikocredit.
Annapurna will use the funds to grow its loan book, invest in technology, expand geographically and further its vision of enabling financial inclusion at scale. With a pan India rural distribution network and a multi-product strategy, it offers micro-credit loans, home improvement, and MSME loans to individuals and small businesses. Then fundraise will help Annapurna in strengthening its tech stack to bring in more efficient, automated and paperless financial products to the unbanked and underbanked.
Annapurna, founded in 2009 by Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik and Dibyajyoti Pattanaik, has crossed the INR 6,500 crore AUM milestone. It has a presence across 20 states across the country with over 980 branches and is continuously expanding while utilizing and building on its internal domain knowledge and its processes perfected since its inception.
Talking about the fundraise, Gobinda Chandra Pattanaik, Managing Director, Annapurna Finance, said, "We are thrilled to have our existing debt partner Proparco further support us and now partner with us on the equity side. Their belief in our ability to enable financial inclusion across the country and empower women has fortified our commitment to building one of India's largest financial services companies. We continue to invest heavily in our tech capabilities and operations to further boost the financial inclusion objectives of Annapurna over the next decade and strive to take it towards our larger banking ambitions."
"It gives us immense pleasure to back the founders, who have meticulously, thoughtfully and consistently built Annapurna, with a strong yet nimble business model that has focused on making financial services and products available to financially excluded people especially women in rural areas of India. We are looking forward to Annapurna's exciting journey and believe in their ability to grow profitably while also creating a significant impact. ", said Diane Jegam, Regional Director - South Asia, Proparco.
Proparco is the private sector financing arm of the French public entity AgenceFrancaise de Developpement Group (AFD Group). It has been promoting sustainable economic, social and environmental development for over 40 years. Proparco provides funding and support to both businesses and financial institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Its action focuses on the key development sectors: infrastructure, mainly for renewable energies, agribusiness, financial institutions, health and education. Its operations aim to strengthen the contribution of private players to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the international community in 2015. To this end, Proparco finances companies whose activity contributes to creating jobs and decent incomes, providing essential goods and services and combating climate change. They contribute to building sustainable economic growth and reducing poverty. For more information www.proparco.fr/en.
Bangalore-based Unitus Capital acted as an exclusive financial transaction advisor to Annapurna.
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